Finally...

Yes, that is right. It has been well over a year since my last update. Where have we been? Well, taking care of two rambunctious four year old girls.

These little girls have become righteously hilarious in the last few months. I will fully admit that navigating through age three was very overwhelming. Two headstrong little girls coupled with two fairly laid back parents was not a good recipe in the making. But, since they have turned four, they (and we parents) have gotten on the same page. The hunger strikes are coming to an end, they are fully potty trained, dressing themselves, can play together for hours as best little friends and they are developing their goofy personalities. There is much more peace and laughter in our house rather than time outs and tantrums.

The girls are in preschool three afternoons per week. Ah, sweet bliss. :) They LOVE to learn about their letter and are starting to get the hang of spelling and sounding out words. They like to write letters. In fact, Maddy has about 10 of them laying around the house right now to Santa and they all say the same thing..."Moon Dough Barn. Love Maddy." They also enjoy being outside and active and watch very little TV which is awesome!

This summer they were in gymnastics again and this fall have been in ice skating. This winter, who knows? We are checking into Karate and swimming lessons. These kids need to keep busy to keep mommy sane.

Here are some photos from recently! Enjoy!

First Day of preschool 2010-11

Ice Skating!!!!

We hatched a caterpillar this summer into a monarch butterfly. What a fun thing to so together and the girls learned so much!

Daddy tossing us into what is left of White Bear Lake! Ha! We spent so much time at the beaches, pools and waterparks this summer. The girls love the water...especially when daddy throws you HIGH!

"Fishing" at the cabin

First Snowman of the Season

I was afraid of the snow coming, to be honest. I'm not really into many winter activites and the girls loved (I mean LOVED) summer and everything that came with it- the beach, sand, scooters and playgounds. I was starting to get nervous about how I would entertain them when not able to be outdoors.

But this morning they proved me wrong. By 9:15am, they were dressed and out in the snow.

TO BUILD A SNOWMAN!!

They had an absolute blast. So did I. :)

Dave, who was a speed skater in his younger days, is thinking they are ready for skates so that he can take them skating on the neighborhood ponds. Does anyone have any feedback on that? Are they still too young, or should we start them now?

The snow will all be gone by tomorrow, but it has been a great introduction to what is to come.

We are still here! I swear. And I cannot believe it is almost the middle of August.

Cross your fingers that my pair of three year old hooligans allows me time to update with some pictures and stories soon!

Until then....xoxo

Ahh, it is spring- Finally! Now that it is spring, we get to...

Eat some early season corn on the cob-

Play in the water at Big Marine with Jack-

Check out Grandpa's new race boat at the motor meet-

Run up and down the banks of the pond to throw rocks and sticks into it.

AND THEN WE TURNED THREE!!!! Here is daddy working on our snake cake. Yes, we wanted a snake cake-



Cousins Cody and Jessica came over to help us celebrate-

And they taught us how to play our new Hungry Hippo Game-

Later that weekend, we went to Nana and Bubba's for more cake and party-

And we got our first My Little Pony! We like to sleep with it at night.

Mommy wanted a picture with us (and Maddy wasn't happy.)

It was 97 degrees here this week, so we got out the new pool from Libby-

The weekend after our birthday, mommy and daddy took us to Dora Live in Minneapolis. It was alot of fun!

Look how excited we are to see Dora and Boots!

Now that it is nice out ,we have to keep our scooters clean!

Thanks, guys!

Conversation between Abby and Dave last night on the swings:

Dave: "Abby, how old are you?"

Abby: "Two!"

Dave: " No, you're three now!"

Abby: "Three?"

Dave: "Yup."

Abby: "I three? Wow! Thanks, guys!"

She is so appreciative of everything!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Troy!

Dear Uncle Troy,

It was your birthday LAST Saturday and I sang this song for you and mommy just never got it posted. Here it is. I hope you like it as much as I like you! Happy Birthday!!

Love,

Maddy

I would like to thank the academy for this honor...

Happy Mother's Day!!!! (Click HERE to see the "honor" given to yours truly!)


And Happy 3rd brithday to our girls! You are our pride and joy and we love you more than you will ever know!!

An important health message for women

Because I am a nurse, I feel obligated to share this info with you.

IMPORTANT WOMEN'S HEALTH ISSUES

Do you have feelings of inadequacy? Do you suffer from shyness? Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive? If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Margaritas.

Margaritas are the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions. Margaritas can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you're ready and willing to do just about anything.

You will notice the benefits of Margaritas almost immediately and with a regimen of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live.

Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will discover many talents you never knew you had.

Stop hiding and start living, with Margaritas.

Margaritas may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use Margaritas. However, women who wouldn't mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.

Side effects may include:

Dizziness,
nausea,
vomiting,
incarceration
lustfulness
Loss of motor control
Loss of clothing
Loss of money
Table dancing
Headache
Dehydration
Dry mouth
And a desire to sing Karaoke

WARNING: The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you are whispering when you are not.

WARNING:The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.

WARNING:The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to think you can sing.

WARNING:The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.

Please share this with other women who may need Margaritas. Thank you.

Comfort Food

What the heck?

It was in the high 80's last week here in the Twin Cities. My plants began to sprout their little heads through the dirt (the peonies are a different story- they're HUGE!). The girls came inside with a sunburn. The yard got raked and the deck stained.

Yesterday, it was cold. It rained. And rained. But it was such a welcome rain and we are in need of so much more of it. You can already see the difference in the yard as it started to green during the day. This week will be a week of temps in the 50's to 60's. You know, temps in the 50's a few weeks ago would have been considered down right balmy!

When it is cold and rainy, I love to cook comfort foods. Here is one of my stand by recipes for those kind of days (and I did make this last night).

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Baked Ziti

1 pound dry ziti (or similar noodle)

1 onion, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

2 jars/cans (26 ounces each) spaghetti sauce

6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced

1 1/2 cups sour cream

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

* Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13 inch baking dish (the deeper the better).

* Boil pasta according to package to al dente. Drain.

* In large skillet, brown onion and beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

*To assemble, layer as follows: half of ziti, all of provolone cheese, all of sour cream, half of meat sauce, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mix. Top with grated parmesan.

*Cover and bake for 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

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Yum! Alot of times, I will split this into two 8x8 pans and freeze one (don't bake it before). When frozen, I pop it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until heated through. Make some garlic bread and salad and it is a wonderful, cheesy feast!

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Now, some comfort food for the soul. Our church is doing a wonderful series on marriage now call "Truly. Madly. Deeply. Stuck." They post the Sunday message on their website by the following Wednesday each week. Really, check it out if you have some time. You can do just the audio, a video or podcast. Click "Eagle Brook Church" over there on my sidebar, then choose "Messages Online" on the right hand side of the homepage. Or, CLICK HERE and see if the link to the page works.

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Do you see that ticker on the top of my page for the Abby and Maddy's birthday? Their third birthday is fast approaching! My babies- the little bundles that I could hold at the same time with no problem, the ones that drowned in newborn diapers when they came home- are now little girls.

It goes WAY too fast.

Question about font colors

Anyone else having issues with changing font colors on their blogger using IE? When I go to the layout to edit "fonts and colors," I am not able to select fonts, boarders, etc to edit. Thus, the awful red remains. In the lower left, it does give me the yellow yield sign telling me there is an error on the page.

Any tips? Thanks!